blackberry crumble?

Whilst I know that some of those closest to me are still reeling with the shock of loosing contact with the outside world for a couple of hours earlier this week (okay 64 very long hours), I am pleased to note that they have survived the ordeal without too much angst.  Some actually started to enjoy themselves and the freedom they had without it.  All this commotion on the eve of when Michael and I are due to visit the Vodacom store to upgrade both our contracts to Blackberry.  Apparently there are no better Nokia's than the ones we have had for the last 2 years.  Silly stuff. I am not sure how Michael will adapt to the Blackberry way but he has been inspired by an 82 year old friend of his mother who told us, over lunch a few weeks ago, that she sends emails, submits her tax returns and does everything on her Blackberry.  We will wait and see.

So while I was thinking of a posting for today, I also started thinking back to the whole new world that the internet has opened up for us.   My first major mind blowing experience was,10 years ago, when I was having an online chat to my brother who was at his desk in London. MSN was what we used then.  He informed me of what was happening in New York and I quickly switched to Sky News and our whole office watched live and in shock as the second plane hit the twin towers. Then, in 2005, while Gareth was living and working in London the subway bombings were the next big terrorist attack.  I had been in London two months previously and knew that Gareth used King Cross station and the Circle Line. The phone networks were jammed and I managed to get an email from my brother to say that he was OK and that he would try and get hold of Gareth.  A couple of emails backwards and forwards and my worst fears were unfounded.  What would we have done if this had happened even 10 years previously?   I cannot imagine.

It still amazes me how we can have all this information at our fingertips.  Some of our fingertips are faster than others.  Gill can Google and find you accommodation and flights anywhere in the world in 5 minutes flat.  She is a whizz with maps and directions and can even get copies of the pictures showing where and when you were caught in a speed trap.  We no longer use the telephone directories or map books.  The Government Gazettes that were delivered to our offices in huge bundles are now available online and we don't write out many cheques anymore.


As far as this blog goes I can see how many people read my ramblings each day. These stats also get broken down into how many people on different continents read my blog.  I know I have a couple of friends and family in the UK (but not 28), I know of my one friend in New Zealand and Gill's daughter in Australia but who the hell reads my blog in Lithuania, Poland and Mexico.  I know that I have 5 followers who have iPads, 14 people use Apple and 78% use Windows.  What is also interesting is that one silly post that I did titled "ready for yet another royal wedding?" has had the top number of views of all my postings -1 276.  That is quite an impressive amount but when I checked to see who has been reading it, I could see that people were very interested in this ageing Duchess and when her full name was googled my posting was fairly near the top.  I know there is fancy terminology for this and that some people have full time jobs to ensure that sites get listed as high up on the google list as they can get.  Lots to learn.


Then let us not forget the great entertainment we are able to enjoy.  Susan Boyle on our computer monitors, the very day after she had appeared on X-Factor in the UK.  The world cup rugby we streamed live and having the matches during working hours did not trouble us too much - we converted Franc's office into a home theatre (that is what happens when you run off to New York, Franklin) and had the commentary going throughout the morning. 

The very best YouTube clip that I have ever seen is the "Charlie bit my finger" video.  For those of you who have not seen it, here it is and even if you have, it is worth watching again.

Here is a sweet follow-up of the 2 brothers some months later

"Charlie!!" - I love it.

So no complaints, we have come a long way, learnt a lot and most of us have lots more to learn.  How the hell does my computer know that at this very moment 4 people are reading my blog.  Boggles my brain.